Harry Potter and his Familiars
by CrossoverAUman
Summary: As a boy, Harry found a snake and brought it home. He found an eagle owl chick and brought that home too. Then Hagrid got him Hedwig. Hogwarts will never be the same, after Harry and his familiars are done with it.
1. Book 1, Part 1

"Hey! You, up there! Watch it, Asssssss-hole!"

To say Harry Potter, age six, was surprised that a snake was talking to him would be an understatement. He was just Harry Potter, the little nobody who lived under the stairs. He wasn't a snake charmer, like Dudley saw on TV.  
"Excuse me, but... did you just speak?" he asked the snake, kneeling down near them.  
"Well, look at that!" the snake said, happily surprised. "One of you big apessss can ssspeak! Never ssssseen that before!"

Harry gave the small snake an affronted look and said "Of course I can speak, I do it all the time! This is... just the first time I've spoken to a snake, you see?"  
"Maaaakesss sssense!" the snake said, giving a snakey little grin. "My naaaame isss Aaaaddern!"  
"I'm Harry Potter," Harry said, holding his hand out and letting Adern crawl up and around his wrist.

* * *

At age eight, Harry found an owl chick, and Adern helped him identify it as an Eagle Owl. Harry decided to bring it home and care for it (and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon never went into his cupboard anyways, so it wasn't like they'd know, right? They hadn't found Adern yet!). He named the chick Nightwing, after one of the characters on one of Dudley's telly programs, and eventually, Nightwing was as big as Harry- he spent most of his time outside, except in Harry couldn't speak to him like he could Adern, the boy and owl were able to feel the others emotions. It worked well for Harry, who could simply need for Nightwing to come to him, and the owl would come.

* * *

Hagrid grinned as he gave Harry another owl, this one a snowy. Harry was definitely his sort of boy- the kid had a venomous snake and an eagle owl for familiars. Dumbledore had mentioned he had detected the familiar bond being formed by Harry, but two of the more dangerous animals of the world certainly wouldn't have been something he'd expect. " 'Ere ya are, 'Arry! Right crazy, this one is, 'corrdin' ter the Shopkeeper! She's 'ad five owners, 'ee said!"

Harry just grinned and held a hand out to the bird, letting the fact that he smelled like an owl calm her down.  
"What's she called, Hagrid?"  
"They called 'er 'Edwig, 'r so they told me."

And Harry smirked, letting her out of her cage and on to his arm.  
"I think we'll all get along _famously_."

* * *

Harry, Adern draped over his shoulders and his bird familiars locked in their cages, was confused, to say the least. Platform _9 and three-quarters_? "Who names this crap?!" Harry hissed furiously to Adern, who rippled his scales in agreement. Harry would have remained lost completely if Nightwing hadn't shrieked then and there, alerting the young wizard to what could only be described as a pack of Red-heads.

Harry watched curiously as the first of them, a boy, slipped through a portion of brick close to platform ten, but still between it and platform nine. Harry moved closer as two more boys, twins it seemed, slipped through as well.

The woman with them, who was most likely the mother of the brood, turned in Harry's direction, as if sensing him somehow (years later, when questioned, Molly Weasley would swear she heard a voice whisper at her to turn to her left.), and when she saw his confused face she smiled and waved him over to her and her two remaining children.  
"First time for Hogwarts, dear?" she asked Harry, smiling kindly. "It's Ron's first year too."  
"Hey," said the boy by her side who was Harry's age, grinning at him. Harry grinned back, and Nightwing sent a feeling of approval through their bond. He obviously sensed something in this red-haired contemporary of his human that he thought made him worthy.

As Mrs. Weasley (as she said her name was, which Harry thought was an amazingly entertaining name) explained how to find the train, and Harry and Ron made a run through the barrier together, Harry knew he'd found himself a friend.

And in her cage, Hedwig felt a sense of smug satisfaction, because when her new human met his new wing-brother, he also had managed to meet his new mate- and Hedwig was pleased that she could feel her human's minor, young attraction to the young red-haired witch.

* * *

"Well, aren't you the odd one?" the Sorting Hat asked Harry as it sat on his head, giving a mental grin.  
"So asks the _talking hat_," Harry said in a deadpan manner.  
"So young, and three Familiar bonds already! You'll do well no matter what house I put you in... You'd go far in Slytherin, you know. Salazar Slytherin was a Parslemouth, like yourself. Or perhaps in Ravenclaw, you have a thirst for knowledge like I rarely see. But then again, you know such fierce loyalty already, so perhaps Hufflepuff would suit you best. Though beneath all of that, I see something... something far brighter than all your other talents. I see a boy willing to kill and die to save others, a boy who would give his life up to save a friend, and maybe even an enemy as well. I see in you a little girl with your eyes, and red hair, friends with a Slytherin for many years, despite all the world fighting against them... Better be..."

"_**Gryffindor!**_"

And the applause was deafening.

* * *

In his first potions class, Harry could tell he had to watch out for Draco Malfoy. He wouldn't have known if he hadn't sent Adern out to gather information, but Malfoy had attempted to sabotage Neville's potion- he would have succeeded and blown them all sky high if Adern hadn't told Harry what the platinum haired fool was up to.

A simple thought brought Hedwig in, swooping down to grab the sprig of monkshood before it could even land in Neville's potion (and Harry didn't even want to know where Malfoy had gotten that from.

As Harry washed Hedwig's talons (he didn't dare risk her getting sick from skin contamination of the poisonous flower), he made two decisions- Adern would be tailing Malfoy until he proved trustworthy; and Harry would be tailing Neville until the poor boy gained some confidence.

* * *

Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione and Nightwing were all lined up, standing in front of the school's brooms and waiting for their first flying lesson to begin. They also had to endure Malfoy bragging about out flying a helicopter once. And anyone with any sense (namely Harry and Hermione, muggle raised and born, respectively; and Ron, thanks to his father) could tell that it was a line of utter crap.

Letting his sarcasm, learned from his first familiar, flow free, Harry walked up to Malfoy, giving him slow applause. "Oh, bravo," he said, slowly coming to a stop, leaning into the other boy's face. "I'm impressed. A helicopter is no small thing to outrun. So, what sorts of fines did you pay? 100 galleons? 200? 1000, perhaps?"  
"We paid no fines!" Malfoy exclaimed, snarling at Harry.  
"Oh, then I'm sure your father made a rather generous donation to the Ministry. Or perhaps you made a donation of your alleged skills with a broomstick to certain officials. After all, even if the ones I'm sure you're used to are a bit larger than those, the skills must transfer to the small one ever wizard carries in his pants."

And as Harry gulped down a potion an hour later, to help his nose heal in a good position after Malfoy punched his face, Harry knew he'd had a good day.

Even if the flying lesson had been cancelled for the day.


	2. Book 1, Part 2!

_"An heir... I need an heir..."  
_Harry heard the hissing one morning at breakfast while talking with Ron and Neville. He nearly spat out his drink, knowing that it was most likely a snake from the accent. His friends looked at him concernedly, but he stuck his tongue out for a brief moment- it had become something of a code meaning it was just something about his familiars, and they could talk later. As he stood up, Harry called his three familiars to him, holding out an arm for Nightwing to land on. He stalked, owl on shoulder, an owl on his arm, and a snake on his lower arm, up to Headmaster Dumbledore's office. He'd told Harry to come to him, if something strange happened, and hearing a voice certainly counted as strange.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore wasn't sure when his office had become a zoo, but between the three bird familiars and the magical snake, he was fairly certain he'd need to hire someone to clean up after them.  
Staring curiously at the boy as Harry explained what had happened at breakfast, the old man realized something- his school had a large, unknown snake of some kind in it that Harry alone could hear.

And given the events that had transpired nearly fifty years prior... Dumbledore was worried.  
"I think, dear boy, that you did the best thing possible by coming straight to me. I shall add this to the top of my ever increasing list of worries, Harry, and rest assured, I will investigate. Now, off to class with you, I believe you're studying Cheering Charms today."

Harry left, with a respectful nod, but Albus could tell the boy's familiars were unsure of him. Smiling, the headmaster leaned back in his chair and said "This is going to be a long year..."

* * *

After a week of hearing the voice, Harry grew sick of it, and the first time he found himself away from his classmates, he yelled out _"Where are you?! You won't find an 'heir' if you keep hiding!"  
"You ssssspeak?"_ the voice hissed, and Harry realized it to be female.  
"Tttttthat wassss _my_ reaction toooo," Adern said with a small, hissing laugh. "but it turns out some of these leggers are good for something other than scaring or being stepped on by!"  
_"I speak, yes. Where are you, serpent? Come forward, let me see you."  
"Aaaare you... an Heir? I serve only the heirs of my first Master."  
"I am heir to nothing," _Harry hissed. _"And I am Master to none. I merely wish to aid you in your search_."

Harry Potter was fairly brave. His pet snake was venomous, and his owls were both rather dangerous as well. But he admittedly was terrified of the giant snake that burst from the ground in front of him. He would have fainted, if she hadn't sworn herself to him as his familiar then and there.

* * *

The students of Hogwarts dove for cover and ran screaming at the sight of 'The Savior of the Light' riding a basilisk like a wild bull. Ministry officials were sent to try and capture her and arrest Harry, but given that Harry didn't _breed_ her, nor did he order her creation, he had legally done nothing wrong, and thanks to a loophole in the law, she was allowed to stay.

Though it took some convincing on Harry's part. Thankfully, you tend to hold the high ground when a basilisk is curling up around you protectively and snapping at anyone who comes near that you don't trust. You also cut a very imposing figure, it seems. Or at least you do in the Daily Prophet photos of the event, as Harry discovered the next day.

* * *

"Harry, have you seen Scabbers?" Ron asked his friend, who was petting Adern on the head as Hedwig groomed his hair with her beak. "Come to think of it, no, not since right before Salasha and I met... Think he ran off?"  
"Harry, he barely moved, let alone woke up. I doubt he could 'run' anywhere." Ron said doubtfully.

The two mused for a moment before Harry had an idea. "Adern, could you go find Ron's rat? He was missing a toe, remember?"  
_"I remember, yessss... He was no rat, but a man! We tried to quesssstion him but he raaan, raaan far away. But we shaaall find him now that you wish him, yessss we shaaall!_"  
The snake hissed to the snowy owl and the two left, a flap of wings and a small hiss the only sign of their departure they gave.

"Ron?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Go get McGonagol. Scabbers was human according to Adern."

* * *

Somewhere in the North Sea, in his Cell in Azkaban, Sirius Black sneezed.

* * *

Ron looked as sick as Harry felt as Dumbledore explained what had happened. 'Scabbers' had really been a man named Peter Pettigrew, and thank goodness Harry sent his familiars out to find him while Ron got a proffessor, because thanks to Pettigrew, an innocent man had been arrested and thrown in Azkaban, twelve muggles were dead, and Harry had lost his parents.

_"I shall tear his eyes out! Bite him in half, shred his bones with my teeth, hunt him, kill him!"  
"He DARES harm my Master, even as a child? I shall end him!_" Salasha carried on, her voice a scream to Adern's angry hisses and Hedwig's angry screeches. Nightwing sat silently on the arm of the chair Harry was seated in, a silent vanguard. Unlike Hedwig, who saw their human as her chick, or the large serpent, who saw Harry as her child as well and treated him as such, Nightwing and Adern saw Harry as a younger/ older sibling. He was there for them, and they for him. and while Adern joined in the angry animal chorus, Nightwing stood guard, silently letting his Harry know he was there.

* * *

**"TRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOLLLLLL!** In the dungeon! Troll in the dungeons! ... Just thought you ought to know!..."

Screams erupted around the Great Hall, though Harry just smirked. "Salasha? Care to have a nice big troll for dinner tonight?"

Harry could almost _hear_ his newest familiar grin ferally.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was beginning to get a headache from all the madness. His poor school... Bad enough Voldemort was trying to get the stone, bad enough that he had a troll in his school already, but... He wasn't really ready to deal with what happened every time Harry's newest familiar wanted to be near him. Most familiars were small, like Harry's owls, or Fawkes, who Dumbledore felt quite honored to have as a friend and as his familiar.

But Harry had a bloody Basilisk for a familiar, and when she wanted to get near her Master, she burst through walls. _Walls!_ Hogwarts was getting new hallways and corridors thanks to her, and the staff weren't quite equipped to handle the chaos it caused.

Well, at least 'Salasha' was polite about it, always apologizing afterwards.

* * *

Harry had no interest in joining the House Quidditch team. But after the re-scheduled flying lesson, he was on it. Malfoy had stolen a gift that Nevile's Gran had sent him after a rather nasty accident with a broom (only a broken wrist, thank Goodness), and Harry had pursued him, determined to get it back. After a number of maneuvers he'd learned from Nightwing and Hedwig, Harry had caught the magic glass ball and landed safely on the ground- and landed a spot on the Gryffindor House Team.

But all of that didn't matter. Now, instead of wishing he could join his owl familiars in the sky, he could hop on a broom and soar with them at any point.

* * *

Sirius Black, cleaned up somewhat and looking far healthier, strolled up to Hogwarts' front gate, feeling its wards wash over him, far friendlier than those of Azkaban. He was finally free, his innocence known, and Wormtail? Well, Sirius would have liked to have gotten the rat himself, but the chance to see him being beaten on by owls on the front page of the Daily Prophet as Aurors led him away was almost just as entertaining.

But best of all, he was now able to provide Harry a home. He had the custody papers all wrapped up nicely in his robes, signed by the Dursley's. They hadn't been able to sign them quick enough, and if ten years in Azkaban hadn't cooled him off slightly, Sirius would probably have hexed them in to oblivion.

As it was, the Flatulence Hex had been liberally applied to Vernon Dursley. The walrus like man would be farting quite painfully for a month. It would be the worst month of his life.

* * *

Hedwig eyed her Harry-chick's "Godfather" critically. He was like the rat who was a man, except he was more like a dog, and that meant loyalty and a sense of playful joy about him that nobody could doubt or destroy. Yes, he would be good for her Harry-chick.

Salasha agreed, though she relied on taste alone. Her Harry had asked her not to kill anyone without permission, and though he was immune to her stare, as were his other familiars and as would be his future mate, nobody else was immune to her greatest weapon, and so she kept her eyes closed.


	3. Book 1, Part 3!

AN: All of these chapters so far take place in the first book, Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone.  
I did say things could (and would) get crazy!

* * *

Sirius Black eyed his old Headmaster in disbelief. Harry had a familiar? He could believe that. Two? Well, it was rare, but not unheard of (much like familiars themselves). But four, one of which was a basilisk?  
Sirius Black was no fool, and the idea that his leg was being pulled displeased him to no end.

Of course, when it was shown to him in the Pensieve, he had no choice but to believe.  
Harry, James' son, had Slytherin's old pet as a familiar. Of course, he was Lilly's son too, and Sirius knew that if Lilly could have had a familiar, she would, even if it _was_ the bloody Slytherin Mascot.

* * *

Harry, Adern wrapped around his wrist and lower arm (and was it just him, or had Adern gotten _huge_ since they all came to Hogwarts?), eyed the man in front of him warily. Godfather? Where was he for the last ten years?  
'Oh, prison. That's right. Duh.'  
"You'll never have to see the Dursley family again if you don't want to," his Godfather was telling him. "And you can come live with me. I'll have a place set up for us by OOF!"  
That 'oof' was as far as Sirius got, tackled by a hug as he was.

* * *

Remus Lupin had just gone through an emotional upheaval. Sirius was innocent, Peter alive and the true traitor to Voldemort? Tell him that a month ago and he wouldn't have believed you. But now, as he and Sirius fought their way through the veritable army of Doxies at Number Twelve, Grimauld Place, he really had no choice.  
"Well," Sirius yelled to him as they blasted the little black bug beasts, dueling back to back just like old times, "They're not Death Eaters, but I suppose they'll do for now!"  
Remus just rolled his eyes and kept dueling. Thank Merlin Doxies didn't have wands.

* * *

Harry grinned as Salasha swam peacefully through the lake, the giant squid and all other denizens having swum away in fear of her. After near on to a thousand years in the Chamber of secrets, other than her forays into the pipes, feeling the waves of joy at being in the sun roll off of her was nearly addicting.

* * *

Nightwing was, if put in to human terms, as paranoid as Mad Eye Moody. And that was saying something.  
As Nightwing flew around, though, and sensed each cursed letter that people tried to send his brother, intercepting each, he felt exceptionally proud.  
Before his paranoia took over and he went back to intercepting the letters. The Great Burning One would take them and give them to his human, who would remove the foul tasting magic from them.

His paranoia kept his brother safe, and that was enough.

* * *

"People are sending my godson cursed letters because he proved I was innocent?!" Sirius yelled, nearly roaring, as Dumbledore passed him the news. Next to Fawkes, a large Eagle Owl that reminded him of Alastor Moody puffed up his feathers and screeched unhappily.  
"Indeed. And they would come through to him if it weren't for his ever vigilant familiar, Sir Nightwing here."  
Sirius looked to the bird, then back to the headmaster. Then the bird, then Dumbledore again, before saying;  
"I'll never say a word against owls ever again so long as I bloody live."

* * *

Harry whooped for joy as he passed through Salasha's jaws with space to spare. The two were 'training' him for Quidditch, expecting and planning for danger.  
What better way to do that than by trying to dodge a venomous, sixty foot long snake?  
The Nimbus 2000 that Sirius had bought him as a late birthday present/ early Christmas was awesome, and Wood had fainted at the sight of it.

* * *

Harry smirked as Malfoy ran screaming from the potions lab. Adern had definitely grown since they got to Hogwarts. Where he once was small enough to wrap around Harry's wrist, now he was big. Big as in 'Pythons run screaming in terror', big. And Harry willingly used that fact to his advantage, mostly to scare Malfoy.

No matter how Slytherin you are, angry, venom spitting snakes are something you run from.

* * *

Nightwing and Hedwig first spoke to Harry telepathically after his first Quidditch game, where he was nearly thrown from his broom. They didn't realize it, at first, but once they settled down and weren't threatening to pluck people's eyes out, everybody realized what was going on.

And it was glorious.

* * *

Sirius grinned as Fred and George Weasley jumped about sixty feet in the air.  
"Hello, Weasleys. Enjoying the map?"  
"Map?"  
"What map?"  
"I haven't got a map. How about you, Gred?"  
"Not a one, Forge! No map here, Sorry Mr. Black!"

Sirius threw an arm around their shoulders and said "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good, boys."

Fred and his twin dropped to the ground, bowing exaggeratedly at Sirius as he revealed his status as Padfoot to them.  
"So, you both know it's a map, but have you figured out what else the map can do?" Sirius asked, grinning wildly as he stood them up.  
"It can..."  
"Do _more?!_"

Sirius laughed full out and said "So much more, boys, so much more! But first... You need to be Animagi. Map please."

Map in hand, Sirius held his wand to it and said "I swear on the magic of my line that I am up to not but trouble."

* * *

Sirius patted his friend gently on the back as Moony began his transformation. With a pop, his shoulders dislocated as they grew, and Sirius calmly shifted into Padfoot.  
Though only two Marauders remained, they were still Marauders.

Marauders until the end.

* * *

Severus Snape quite enjoyed his reputation as "The Bat of the Dungeons", partially because it made him seem fearsome, but mostly because he was, indeed, a Bat Animagus. Not that the students, the staff or Dumbledore needed to know that.

Otherwise, his midnight flights would be sorely interrupted.

* * *

Grading papers was the worst part about teaching, it was well decided. As a ghost, nobody was sure how Professor Binns did it, but every day that there were papers handed back, the students arrived to find them graded and done.  
Nobody knew how, except for Binns, and he wasn't talking.

The fact that he was actually a poltergeist would remain his little secret.

* * *

Hagrid wrestled with Fluffy every day. For a three headed dog, the beast was really quite gentle, but being in a cramped room like that meant he could be extra aggressive. And so man and three headed dog beast wrestled daily. Fluffy didn't bite or scratch, but he could knock his owner over rather easily. And he did.

Often.


	4. Book 1, Part 4!

Hedwig was happily grooming Harry's head with her beak as he studied his Herbology textbook. Comfortably seated on a couch in the common room, back resting on one end and feet tucked up to his butt, the book rested on his lap, the parchment on a clipboard Hermione had allowed him to borrow. Nice girl, that Hermione.  
Finishing his Herbology homework, Harry set it aside and began a crossword. Six down, five letter word that means 'to fail'; 'blank' up.  
'Try... Ummm... Damnit.' Hedwig said.  
"So much for 'wise old owl', hey?"  
'You hush.'

It was quickly becoming common to see Harry carrying on half a conversation by himself. Suffice to say, it was awkward. Hedwig was very motherly as it was, but Nightwing apparently was a sarcastic dick who could put Snark (I mean Snape!) to shame.

But that's not the point!

It took Harry until the middle of his fourth year to solve that particular crossword.

* * *

"Mr. Potter, the Headmaster wishes to speak with you. Follow me, please."  
Harry rose, Adern slipping over his shoulders comfortably as he did so and followed his head of house, wondering why Professor Dumbledore wanted to see him."  
Standing in front of the Gargoyles once more, Harry laughed at the password ("Everlasting Gobstoppers!") and followed the stairs up. Knocking on the door, he heard a kindly "Enter, Mr. Potter," and brought himself into his headmaster's office.  
"Harry, please, come sit. Lemon drop?"  
"Thank You, sir," Harry said, reaching for one, letting his magic 'taste' it first for anything... unsavory. A mild calming draught laced it, nothing more, and so Harry took it.

"Why is it you wanted to see me, sir? ... I blame that prank with the firecrackers on the twins and Sirius!"

The old Headmaster laughed gently and said "No, you misunderstand, Harry. I asked you here to see if you wouldn't mind my borrowing of Salasha. You see, in the third floor corridor, we are guarding the Sorcerer's Stone. And though we've placed a number of protections around it, I and the Stone's owner would like to place a number more, such as, say, a Basilisk."

_'Salasha,'_ Harry thought, calling his last familiar to him. _'Guard the third floor corridor. The only people allowed in are the headmaster and... Hagrid. Turn all the others away. I'll get mirrors placed around the hall so you'll only petrify them.'_

A feeling of affirmation flowed through their bond, and Harry faced his Headmaster again. "She'll do it, but we want mirrors placed around the hall so she only petrifies people."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded, and it was done by the end of the day.

* * *

Christmas came and went. Harry spent it with his Godfather at a hotel in Hogsmede, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Sirius got Ron an owl, a small, buzzy little creature, and Harry was fairly certain Ron would love having his own bird (he could almost hear Ron saying "Great, now we can retire Errol!").  
Hagrid sent him a book labeled "Dangerous Creatures for Dangerous Wizards" that explained how having a familiar tended to work, which Harry enjoyed immensely. Ron had given him chocolate, and Hermione gave him another book, this one entitled "Magical Snakes through the ages", which Harry enjoyed as well.  
Sirius gave him a large set of Wizard's games, promising to teach him how to play them all, and an old piece of parchment ("If you're up to no good, this will help you more than you know."), and from Molly Weasley he received a green, knit sweater and some fudge, and from an unknown source, a simple package that made Sirius gasp.  
"Oh, the trouble we'd get into with this..." he whispered as Harry handed it to him. "This, Harry, is your father's old invisibility cloak. It belonged to his father, and his grandfather, and at the very least his great grandfather's grandfather. Now, it belongs to you, and eventually, you'll leave it to your kids."

Harry held it reverently, and then slipped it over his shoulders. Sure enough...

"Heeeeey, I could get usssed to being invisible like this!" Adern hissed from his spot on Harry's shoulders.

* * *

Harry, with Ron and Hermione under his cloak with him, slipped out of the Gryffindor common room and towards the third floor corridor. Adern was comfortably slithering over the ground ahead of them, scouting for trouble (and Filch.) with a sense of pride. As thee three humans entered, Harry threw the cloak off and rushed forward, throwing his arms around his largest Familiar's snout in a hug. After all, everyone, even monster snakes, likes a hug now and again.

The three humans and two snakes settled down to rest with each other, Harry on Salasha's head, and Ron and Hermione resting on her sides. The five talked into the night, about school, about muggle films (which Ron found both strange and fascinating at the same time. He'd have to take up the chance to see these 'Star Wars' for himself one day.

* * *

The day that Harry accidentally killed Professor Quirrel started like any other, really. He woke up, said good morning to everyone, and then went to breakfast. Then he accidentally bumped into the turnbaned teacher, and the next thing anyone knew, Quirrel was screaming in pain and falling apart into tiny little chunks of dried out skin that felt more like that blackened honey on the edge of a honey baked ham. A black mist burst from the professor's body, but Harry, in a stroke of genius, reached out and touched it, and the mist screamed too- or was it Hedwig, sreaming for him to let go? Or was it Hermione and Ron?

Harry couldn't tell, and he slipped in to blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

Cliffhanger!  
A special thank you to all my reviewers- you keep me writing even when this is really just me compiling som ideas for a bigger, full on story!


	5. Book 1, Part 5! Summer Vacation!

Sirius felt as if he was somehow repeating James's bachelor party... Except Moody wasn't there singing Muggle Rock 'n' Roll, and Remus wasn't ass over tea kettle drunk... Though admittedly, they all had been, even old Mad Eye.

But despite there being no Moody, Moony or Crossdressing Prongs, there was, as there had been at the party, a plethora of animals.

Sirius sighed as he looked at his little Prongslet laying innocently on the Hospital Wing bed. 11 years old, and he'd been threatened by Voldemort twice. And he'd come out on top, but... Was he still a child after all the suffering he'd gone through?

"Seems like just yesterday I was holding him in my arms and trying to teach him to say 'Padfoot'..." he said with a wistful look. Adern laid his head on Sirius's arm as if to say 'We understand. Keep talking.'

And so, as he waited for his Godson to awaken, Sirius told two birds and two Snakes about Harry as a baby.

* * *

Salasha gave a snakey sort of grin as she wrapped around the new host body of that damnable Tom Riddle. She might have obeyed him once, but she had a new Master now... And even if she couldn't kill Riddle, she could track him and kill his hosts, quite happily. Any ally of he-who-distrubs-the-nest would soon find themselves... Digested.

* * *

Harry James Potter woke up. Blinked his eyes.  
Yep, he had to be seeing things.  
There was a dog wearing two owls and a snake sitting in front of his bed.  
Harry slipped in to unconsciousness again.

* * *

Salasha examined the strange object in front of her massive form. It was a ring that reeked of Dark Magic, Death, and he-who-disturbs-the-nest. Hissing angrily, she spat venom at it and gave a little nod of satisfaction as it melted into nothingness, save the stone. Curious, she wrapped the tip of her tail around it and decided to bring it to her Harry...

* * *

Lucius Malfoy held the diary his Master had given him in his hands. He made a habit of doing so at least twice a month, writing to the imprint of his Master contained in its pages. The Dark Lord would be most displeased with what was happening at Hogwarts...  
_You must find the free portion of myself, Lucius. If you would be so kind...  
_A list of potion ingredients appeared on the pages in his Lord's tight, cramped handwriting. It was rather extensive, but... Lucius would obtain them all.  
"As... You... Wish, My Lord..." he said as he wrote the words...

* * *

Harry gave a weak groan as he woke up for the second time. Adern was curled up on his legs, and he had two owls sleeping near his head...  
This made much more sense, because the dog wasn't there, and Harry knew he didn't have a dog for a familiar...  
"Harry!" Adern hissed happily. "Nightwing, Hedwig, wake up you stupid birds! Harry's not dead!"

The two owls continued to sleep, so with what can be best described as an aggravated sigh, Adern yelled "HARRY'S DYING! HIS VITAL SIGNS ARE DROPPING! EVERYBODY PANIC!"

The resounding cacophony of angry screeches when the owls realized Adern had cried wolf could be heard in the dungeons.

* * *

Harry gave a contented sigh and leaned back in his chair. Every exam, done. Life was good.  
No more Dursleys, Sirius had successfully arranged transport for Salasha to their new home (despite her assuring them that she could get there on her own.), and from what Harry had seen of it...  
He was gonna have more fun than any other time in his life.  
Waiting for Ron and Hermione to finish, the three rose and turned their exams in with a feeling of finality.

"Ready for this summer, then?" he asked them. They had plans of all sorts based off of what information Salasha had brought Harry.  
"Yep. Sirius cleared it all up with Mum," Ron said, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "Three weeks home at the Burrow at the end of the summer with you two, and the rest of the time at the newly dubbed Black Castle!"

Harry and Hermione snorted in laughter- Sirius HATED that name for the new house, but until a better one came up, that was the name it was stuck with.  
"Personally, the Potions lab is what has me really excited," Hermione said with a manic glint in her eyes.

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes and simply nodded before exchanging grins. "Speaking of which, guess what I've gotten for us?" Harry asked. Hermione saw the look and raised a questioning eyebrow, prompting Harry to say "Approximately Five Hundred years forth of Basilisk Fangs and skins. The Goblins are quite interested in going in to business with us."  
"Us?" Ron asked, "Salasha's your familiar!"

Harry nodded but kept his grin up, saying "And she thinks of us all as HER hatchlings, so she's quite insistent that we form a company of sorts. So are the Goblins, come to think of it. We have a meeting three days after end of term. I'm thinking we call it Granger and Weasley's Basilisk Bits, fine suppliers of basilisk skins, fangs and venom. What'd you think?"

* * *

Harry and Ron soared through the air on their Nimbus 2000's. Harry, after the meeting at Gringotts, had learned he had the equivalent of 19 billion pounds to his name, and promptly bought Ron and Hermione brooms to match his (though Hermione insisted that she had no need to fly, thank you very much, her feet were "Perfectly fine flat on the ground where I know I won't fall to my death, thank you!", as she said in a panicked voice), so it tended to gather dust...

Still, despite her fears, Hermione WAS able to match some of the maneuvers, if well prompted by Hedwig lightly beating her about the ears with her wings.

If asked, the three were simply being kids, but Harry had confided in Sirius and Remus the truth- "Ghostie-mort is still out there, gathering power, so we're doing everything we can to learn to evade and strike back. And if someone else beats him before us, Ron and I'll be sure shots for a pro Quiditch Team!"


	6. Animagi revealed!

"Another Saturday night, and I ain't got nobody- I got some money 'cause I just got paid! How I wish I had someone to talk to, I'm in an awful way!"  
"I got in town a month ago, I've seen a lot of girls since then- if I can meet 'em, I can get 'em, but as of yet I haven't met 'em, that's how I'm in the state I'm in!"  
"Harry? Are Adern and Nightwing... _singing?!_"  
"So it would seem. I believe I shall join them!"

And snake, owl and boy devolved into peals of raucous, horrible singing of the Cat Stevens Version of 'Another Saturday Night' as Hedwig suddenly found herself flying a little crookedly, and Salasha suddenly felt the strangest urge to lounge on a couch, cry while eating ice cream, and scream at movie characters as if she'd just broken up with a long time boyfriend.

In a shadowy corner, Hermione scribbled down a little note in a black spiraled notebook that was titled 'When you bond with multiple Familiars. The note said simply "If you get one drunk, you get them all drunk."

* * *

Hedwig and Nightwing settled on the posts of his headboard, Adern curled at his feet, Harry sat on his mattress, eyes closed as he meditated. He was training to become an animagus. So far, he'd done nothing but lull himself to sleep (though Sirius assured him that it was common. "I fell asleep training to be an animagus as often as I did in History of Magic, don't feel bad!").

With a reassuring mental 'nudge' from Hedwig, Harry settled in to meditating... And was finally rewarded for his efforts.

_He was in a forest, steam rising from the wet ground it was so hot. Birds sang in the trees, and insects crawled under foot... With a gasp, Harry was at a body of water, obviously a sea of some sort. The water began to churn as something gigantic rose from the depths, bubbling and frothing like a simmering cauldron. With a screech, it came, rising up from the depths, nearly thirty stories high! Snake like, with cold blue scales and piercing green eyes, exactly like Harry's, it turned towards Harry and looked at him, like it was staring into his soul. With another screech, it dove from the water, hitting Harry in the chest like a freight train, moving into his body in a flash of light...  
_Harry came to from his meditative state, gasping for air, his three smaller familiars staring at him concernedly.  
"Any... Any clue what that was?"

Hedwig and Nightwing shook their heads in a negative, but Adern looked thoughtful.  
_"One of the thirteen..."_ At the confused glances of his human and avian compatriots, he sighed. _"Ssserpentss have thirteeen godsss... of them, the Trickster's son, the Winter Snake, the Wolf's twin, Death's brother..."  
"Jormundgandr..." _Salasha finished for Adern. _"He is known to humans as well. Salazar's father and Salazar himself followed the faith of those who knew of him."_

* * *

"So you turn into the World Serpent of Norse Mythology?" Remus asked after Harry told the remaining Maurauders of his vision, and Adern and Salasha's explanations.  
Remus and Sirius exchanged grins, and Harry was _almost_ afraid...

* * *

_The forest was his. Freedom... His paws were free to run once more, and run he did, howling his joy to the world. He was massive... His shoulders uprooted trees if he nudged them even lightly, the tallest, oldest and strongest trees breaking like twigs. His tail wagging, he howled once more..._

And Ronald Billius Weasley woke up, panting for air but feeling light as a feather, even despite being drenched in sweat. Grinning, he hopped off of his bed, and wrote a quick note as he got dressed in his lightest clothing.

_Mum,__Going for a run, I'm a ruddy giant wolf for my animagus form, fire call you when I get to Harry... Or I'll owl when I get to Hermione's_... _Maybe I'll go visit Bill... I don't bloody know! Talk later!_  
_Ron_

* * *

_Hermione was surrounded by mist, cold and alone. All around her, she could hear voices, but could see nobody through the mist. She heard a growl, and from the mists came a giant dog... Sleek like a greyhound, she could count each of its ribs, but it had a mane like her Grandfather's keeshond Laney when she was a child. A heavy steel collar was bound around its neck in twisting, rune like patterns spelling out a sentence._

_As the dog drew closer, Hermione felt her breath hitch... IT was going to kill her, she was going to die... She saw her Grandfather, lying, dying, in a hospital bed... Saw her Uncle Antonius succumb to the tumor in his brain... She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think of happier times...  
**"Garmr, enough.****"** the voice cut through both the growls and the surrounding voices, powerful and feminine, but not overly so. Hermione immediately thought of her aunt Rosaline- motherly, but a battle axe in the political field.  
**"Hermione... Hermione, my child, come forth. Let me look upon you."** the voice said as the dog moved out of the way._

_Hermione obeyed, moving closer... What she saw was a woman who could be her mother. She had the same bushy hair, the same slant to her eyes... In fact, they shared a face, save for the color of the woman's hair, black as night, with flecks of white peppering it, giving her head the appearance of the night sky. _

**_"Look at you... No one could deny you are_**_ mine..."__  
"Yours?" Hermione asked. "You don't mean..."  
**"I do. Come closer, please..."**_

_**"12 years ago, a young couple lost their child to the ravages of the womb, and the wife was told she could never bare a child again... That night, she prayed to any god who would listen... And I answered. I told her I would give them a child, but the child would be mine. The reasoning is a story for a different time, little one, but I had to offer you up. Your birth mother accepted, and the next day... She was pregnant. Her and her husband rejoiced, thanking the Gods of the world. I saw you only once since then, when you were but a babe. I held you to my breast and you tasted your true mother's milk for the first and last time... And then, I had to leave, never to return."  
**The woman paused and listened to something, before waving a hand over Hermione.  
**Forget what I have told you, little one... Take the only gifts I can give away from here with you...**_

* * *

When Hermione woke up, she smiled, knowing only that she was now a powerful looking Grim in her animagus form, a true grim; Unlike Sirius, who would be happy for her, and even happier to use her form in pranks._  
_

And at the same time, she felt even lighter than she had before she went to bed, as if she could take on anything.

* * *

_In the land of the mists, a woman cried, sobbing for her lost child, and her lover cried with her, holding her close and whimpering his sorrows to the 'sky' even as she dragged him closer by the collar of runes around his neck..._


End file.
